Many vehicles include a vehicle telematics unit that can both monitor vehicle functions and carry out communications at the vehicle. In the past, the vehicle telematics unit may have been capable of communicating using only one cellular standard. As the vehicle moves, the vehicle telematics unit may lose its ability to communicate because the wireless carrier system servicing the local area may employ a cellular standard that does not match the one used by the vehicle telematics unit. In contrast, more modern vehicle telematics units have the ability to communicate using multiple cellular standards. As modern vehicle telematics units move and encounter different cellular standards, vehicle telematics units having the ability to communicate using multiple cellular standards can facilitate communications when older telematics units capable of only one cellular protocol could not.
However, the multiple cellular standards used by modern vehicle telematics units have created new challenges for telematics subscriber systems using central facilities to contact vehicles. As a result, it is helpful to manage wireless communications based on the cellular standards.